Flush-valve



UNITED y STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rauen-verve Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 13, 1921.

.lpplioation Med December 9, 1919. Serial No. 343,485.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, HENRY J. WINCKLER, a citizen of the United States of America, residinor at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and ttate of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Flush-Valves, of which the following is a specication.

The object ofthe invention is to provide a simple and efficient Hush valve construction adapted for affording a timed or preferably a y volumetric flow of water supplied by a house service system independently of the use of a tank or reservolr and therefore adapted to be operated successively, at short intervals without waiting for the refilling of the service tank, and hence without the inconveniences incident to the installation of a ferred embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Flgure l is a sectional view showing in full lines the normal or closed positions of the parts of the valve, and in dotted lines indicating the unseated or displaced position of the relief valve.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the main valve in its unseated position as during the operation of flushing.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the` lane indicated by the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

VSlithin a suitable casing 10 which is provided with an inlet port l1 adapted by means of acoupling 12 for connection with a suitable house service pipe (not shown) is arranged a barrel 13 which at its upper end is constructed to form a valve seat 14 for the reception of the main fiush valve 15, said flush valve being extended beyond the circumference ofthe barrel 13 to form a piston `head 16 which is exposed around the barrel to the pressure of the water su plied by the service pipe. The portion of the casing between the upper or outer surface `of the main valve or piston head and the end of the casing which is fitted with a removable cap 17 constitutes a preure chamber 18 which in communication withthe supply `port `11 of the casing by means of a cored by-pass `llpconstitutin l a feed `port through which said pressure amber is supplied withwater under the control f a throttle valveQO. `By the adjustment o gthelatter the length of `time required to `11 the pressure` chamber,

dependingr upon the pressure or head in the' su ply port `11, may be regulated.

he main valve is provided with a sleeve 21 fitted to slide upon a tubular guide 22 supported concentrically in the barrel 13, and at the upper end of the sleeve there is formed in the main valve a seat 23 for the reception of a pressure relief valve 24 movableindependently of the main valve and having a hollow stem 25 which operates in the bore of the tubular guide 22.

'With the parts thus far described in their normal positions it is obvious that the main or piston valve 15 will be exposed at opposite sides to water supply pressure admitted to the casing through the port 11, such pressure being applied directly to the under or inner surface of said valve and indirectly to the upper or outer surface thereof through the feed port 19 and the pressure chamber 18, and said main or piston valve will thus be held seated not onl by reason of gravity but also by reason 0 the fact that the upper or outer surface thereofis of greater extent in the matter of exposure to the supply pressure than the lower or inner surface thereof, and as long as the relief valve 24 remains seated, the indicated relative positions of the parts including the main or piston valve will be retained.

The relief valve stem is adapted for actual tion, to unseat the valve and thus relieve pressure in the chamber 18 by an operating means indicated in the drawing as consisting of a push button 2G yieldingly held in its normal position by a spring 27 anda bell crank lever 28 of which one arm 29 is arranged in the path of the stem 30 of said push button while the other arm is arranged in operative relation with the said relief valve stem, and obviously the unseatingI of the relief valve to permit of the escape of water from the pressure chamber 18 will provide for the unscating of the main or piston valve by reason of the excess of pressure against the under or inner surface of said valve as compared with that upon the upper or outer surface thereof, so that water from the source of supply may enter the barrel 13 and thence pass out of the casing through the outlet port 31 and connected pipe 32 to the point of use.`

I1 order that the relief of pressure in the chamber 18 may be positive and effective when the valve 24 is ,unseated the stem of said. valve is. made tubular pas indicated and valve seat 23 and the chamber in the upper end of the sleeve 21 enters the hollow stem 25 through ,theV port 33. This escape of water from the chamber 18 causes a suliicient reduction of pressure in the chamber, owing `to the throttling action of the reduced feed port 19, to permit of the action of the supply pressureupon the end or inner surface of the main or piston valve to unseat the latter and thus permit of the flow of water under service Supply pressure to and through the outlet 31, and an equalization or readjustment of pressures as applied to the outer and inner surfaces of the main or piston valve, suliicientto cause the seating of the latter and hence the checking of the flow through the barrel 13 will not occur until a Vsufficient amount of water has passed through the said reduced feed port, under the control of the valve 20,

Vand this operation obviously will occupy an appreciable'length of time suflicient to accomplish the desiredflushingoperation, and it will be noted in thisconnection that re-4 gardless of the pressurein the vservice pipe a predetermined amount of water will be discharged through the outlet owing to the fact that when. the pressure is lower the equalization or readjustment of pressures as applied to the opposite sides of the main or piston valve will be slower due to the fact that a relatively longer time will be required for the necessary amount of water to pass through the port- 19 to the pressure chamber. V Preferably the stem of the relief valve is formed in sections of which the main section is attached directly to the relief valve as shown and hereinabove described'while an auxiliary section 25a is mounted in the lower end of the bore of the guide 22 for engagement bythe arm of the bell crank lever 28. said auxiliary section also being tubular and being provided with an exhaust port Set normally disposed below the lower end of the guide 22, so that after the actuation of the push button 26 to unseat the relief valve and thus permit a quantity of water to escape from the pressure chamber sufiicient to allow the main or piston'valve to be unseated, the release of said push button will permit the auxiliary section or member of the relief valve stem to drop suiiiciently, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 1 and lin Fig. 2, to expose the port 34 and thus permit the water from the pressure chamber, which has fiowed into the hollow stem of the relief valve, to escape therefrom. This permits of the prompt seating of the relief valve and avoids the retention of any Water in the stem in the interval between operations of the valve. Also preferably there is a limited lost motion between the auxiliary stem section and the main stem section, so that when the push button is actuated the first portion of the movement of the auxiliary stem section willv be independently of the main stem section after which the latter will. be raised sullicientlv to unseat the relief valve, and when the push button is released the auxiliary stem section will drop clear of the main stem section and allow the latter to settle to its normal. position as the water escapes from the interior of the stem. While a bracket 35 is shown in the drawing as serving to support the tubular guide 22 it will be understood that any suitable means may be employed in this con nection to the end that the water which is permitted to escape from the pressure chamber by the unseating of the relief valve may pass into the hollow stem of said valve in order to find its outlet through the port 34, and thus control the movement of the parts as hereinabove explained.

It will also be understood that upon the removal of the cap 17 which is preferablv seated upon a suitable gasket 3G, the relief valve and also the main or piston valve may be withdrawn through the upper end of the casing for cleaning purposes, regrinding or otherwise, and that similarly a plug 37 carrying the push button and other elements of the relief valve operating means may be withdrawn for necessary cleaning or repair without disturbing the other elements ofthe structure.

From the foregoing description it will, be noted that the piston valve by which the flow of water is controlled is provided with major and minor surfaces, or surfaces of relatively greater and less area, both of which are exposed toservice pressure, the major surface being exposed in the direction of valve seating` movement and the minor or lesser surface in the direction of valve open- 110 mg or unseat-ing movement, the access of Vpressure to the valve seating or major surface of thepiston being through a. reducing port which serves under the control of a regulating valve to throttle the pressure so that after the unseating of the main valve by the abrupt relief of pressure due to the unseating of the relief valve, the return of the main valve to its closed or seated position introduces the factor of time and occurs slowly to give an opportunity for a suiiici'ent amount of water from the service inlet to flow through the outlet passage represented by the bore of the barrel 13 to properly accomplish the flushing op- 125 eration. The portion of the piston valve which is exposed to the valve opening or valve unseating service pressure is the annular area defined exteriorly by the interior surface of the casing and interiorly by the exterior surface of the barrel 13 or the diameter of the piston valve seat.

What is claimed is:

1. A flush valve mechanism having an outlet valve seat, a piston valve disposed to engage the seat and having a surfacey exposed exteriorly thereof to valve unseating service pressure, a pressure chamber accessible to reduced service pressure and to Which the opposite surface of said piston valve is exposed, said piston valve being provided With a relief port and a communicating sleeve forming an exhaust passage,

. a tubular guide upon which said sleeve is mounted for movement with the piston valve, a relief valve seatable to close said relief port by pressure chamber pressure and havinga tubular stem fitted in said tubular guide, said stem having ai main section attached to the relief valve and provided with an inlet port for communication with said exhaust passage when the relief valve is unseated, and an auxiliary section mov able independently of the main section and provided with an exhaust port for exposure below said tubular guide When said section is in its normal position, and relief valve unseating means operatively disposed with relation to said auxiliary stem section and having an exteriorly accessible operating device.

2. A flush valve mechanism having an outlet valve seat, a piston valve disposed to engage said seat and having an unseating surface exposed exteriorly thereof to service pressure, a pressure c amber accessible to reduced servlce pressure to which the opposite surface of said piston valve is exposed, said piston valve being provided with an exhaust sleeve terminating in a relief valve seat in communication with said pressure chamber, a tubular guide upon which said sleeve is exteriorly mounted, a relief valve seatable upon said relief valve seat by pressure chamber pressure and having a tubular stem mounted in said tubular guide, said stem having independently movable main and auxiliary sections of which the former is attached to the relief valve and is provided with an inlet port for communication With the interior of the exhaust passage when the relief valve is unseated, and the latter of which is provided With an outlet port adapted for closure by said tubular guide when moved to unseat the relief valve and exposed for communication with the flush valve outlet when in its normal position, a bell crank operating arm arranged in operative relation with the auxiliary relief valve stem section for imparting reciprocatory movement thereof to unseat said valve, and a spring controlled push button for actuating said arm.

3. A flush valve mechanism having an outlet valve seat, a piston valve disposed to engage the seat and having a surface exposed exteriorly thereof to valve unseating service pressure, a pressure chamber accessible to reduced service pressure and to which the opposite surface of said piston valve is exposed, said piston valve being provided With a relief port and a communicating sleeve forming an exhaust passage, a tubular guide upon which said sleeve is mounted for movement with the piston valve, a relief valve seatable to close said relief port and exposed to the pressure Within said pressure chamber and having a tubular stem movable in said tubular guide, and means for operating the relief valve to unseat the same.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HENRY J. WINCKLER. 

